Privileged to re-experience some "Great Commission bonding" again

It's interesting how pursuing the Great Commission bonds people together.

When I was a missionary with Campus for Christ for 2 years in East Asia, I colaboured for the Great Commission alongside with people of 6 different nationalities (including my own). Fellow Canadians, such as myself, Americans, Singaporeans, Koreans, Japanese, and Chinese. All for 1 purpose. To fulfill the Great Commission, specifically through the Back to Jerusalem route. There was a type of spiritual camaraderie in Christ that I felt with them that I didn't, and just couldn't feel with some of my Christian friends that I spent years developing friendships with in Toronto. There's something different about proactively pursuing the Great Commission together with other soldiers of Christ... rather than... just... talking about it. Sure, with my Toronto Christian friends, a lot of us talk about the Bible together, pray together, and eat meals together. But that's about it. Maybe it's satisfying for them, but not me. Maybe that's all they're looking for at the moment, but not me.

To draw a simile, that is like a bunch of Americans on American soil, during World War 2, just talking about the war happening against the Nazis in Europe together as well as eating together. Their bonding can only happen to a certain degree as well as kind. In contrast, the soldiers who are actively running together in the same direction against Nazi bullets being fired at them on Normandy Beach on D-Day are going to bond to a different degree, and also different in kind.

The same goes with the Great Commission. I've been almost 2 years "out of the game" of missions ever since I came back in August 2010. I miss that "Great Commission bonding" feel that I had with fellow missionaries in C4C. I haven't had it for a while.

But recently, I was so privileged to encounter a bunch of Koreans in a Korean organization that sends missionaries to unreached people groups in the 10/40 window. As I was sharing tonight at their Church about how God led me to go on missions this summer, my heart re-experienced that "Fellowship of the Ring" feel that I had with people of different nations over 2 years ago. My spirit could feel that unspoken, yet deeply felt bond as I was saying bye to them and thanking them for training me to go to the nation I am going to. My heart could sense the unseeable, yet undeniably felt link between our hearts in Christ as they (all of which who have done the kind of Luke 10 missionary style in the 10/40 window which I am about to embark on), told me that they would pray for me as I went, and received their "goodbye-send-off" prayer.

And yet, I just got to know them a few months ago. Once a week for 8 weeks. Yet, my spirit feels this bond with them that is deeper and incomparable, both in degree and kind, to my friendships with Christian friends in Toronto whom I've known for many years. Just like how the mission of destroying the Ring in The Fellowship of the Ring united the hobbits with the peoples of different races (elves, humans, dwarfs, wizards). It is reasonable to assume that Frodo and Sam bonded with Legolas, Aragorn, Gimli, and Gandalf, in the short but deep time they spent together, in a way that they haven't and couldn't bond with their fellow hobbits in the Shire whom they grew up with all their life.

Thank you Lord, for allowing me to re-experience these great Great Commission bonds once again. My spirit missed them. And you are one who allows these deep bonds to take place in You.